I heard that the 'artificial' skin used to make hotdogs is superbad. Growing up as I did, where I did... we'd make sausages, bologna, head cheese... so, I know the ingredients. A friend of the family... who loved head cheese purchased in the grocery store, but had no idea of the ingredients... watched (in horror) as my Dad whipped up a big batch one time.. and swore off of it for life. Anyway, as a family, we all ate the same stuff, but I'm the only one with IBD. Trigger foods can be tricky... like, you eat a pizza, and the proverbial hits the fan.. But, pizza is a combination of things.. like, for some, there is mozzarella... but also pizza mozzarella. The difference... fat content, lactose content.. different amounts.. some find pizza mozzarella makes a pizza taste greasy.. the cheese looks/feels almost slimy. Some places use frozen dough.. some make it from scratch.. it can make a difference in how much 'yeast' is still active.. and yeast can play havoc with some folks. Diet, figuring out what a person can tolerate, what specific triggers foods are waiting, lurking.. it isn't an easy exercise. For instance... I was on a hi protein, low fat diet.. but finding animal protein low in fat is not so easy. I would buy skinless and boneless chicken breasts.. at one point, the only way for me to digest these was to boil them. Amazing how much fat would boil out... and boiling made them soft, so digesting was easier. But... despite knowing they were 'good' for me, that my digestive tract was able to tolerate them.. mentally, emotionally, the mere thought of eating them was hard to 'swallow'... as it were. However, my list of non trigger, acceptable foods was so short... I really couldn't afford to be... picky. Incredible what you can get accustomed to. Sorry... got side tracked down bad memory lane. What triggered me to input my rambling 2 cents worth in... I wouldn't rush to rule out red meat (not advocating it, just that protein... in tolerable format.. is a basic building block for the body).. nor would I classify hotdogs (regardless of their contents) as red meat.. more like meat flavoured chemicals... Like, a lean cut of aged beef.. marinated prior to cooking (home made marinade, not more instant chemical marinades from a store.. those are atrocious), then broiled, or cooked on a health grill... then cut up into tiny pieces.. then masticated well.. might be tolerable in small amounts. On occasion. But, only trial, experimentation will tell. Hey, I'm no foodie.. or nutritionist.. or anything along those lines. Just someone whose memory of my 'bad' old days.. where eating was a nightmare.. a gauntlet I forced myself to get through.. was triggered by this post. The hard part is figuring out exactly what a person with IBD can tolerate. Once learned, the regimen of preparing, eating it is relatively easy. Except for boiled, skinless, boneless chicken. I hope you can avoid that...